Last Friday, thanks to Vincent Vermeulen and Laethem Business Friends, ​I had the occasion to become better acquainted with one of the most difficult, superb and unknown professions there are,​the one of being a butler.​​Oh my god, to me it seemed a butler should be more or less ​a divine person...

Vincent Vermeulen, an experienced butler and director of the School for Butlers & Hospitality, perfectly succeeded in convincing us that being a butler is reaching to the ultimate humanity. There is no magic or divine interference. There's just a man or a woman perfectly applying human techniques like having an eye for details, controlling body language, anticipating to the desires of the other. Invisibly taking care of the perfect customer experience.

By some examples from daily life as a customer and from mystery shopping cases by his students, Vincent Vermeulen showed us that also in our businesses, we can behave like a butler and reach to the best customer journey for our customers. Think of the smile of your employees, offering a perfect coffee, a nice price offer and gentle return call, anticipating to your customer's preferences... These little things may overwhelm your customer, make him or her happy and come back, or help you close the deal.

By the attitude of being a butler for our customers, we can definitely make the difference and even save our jobs for the future, throughout and embracing the digital transformation.

You can read your way to success in the new book of Vincent Vermeulen, 'What we can learn from the butler', or visit the website www.schoolforbutlers.com.

About VINCENT VERMEULEN:​Vincent is the founder and director of the School for Butlers & Hospitality. He is already the fourth generation of a family that has dedicated its life to working in the hospitality and service sector. His family’s experience in this field is simply unrivalled in Belgium. His relationship with the world’s greatest luxury establishments also means that the school can open doors that remain closed to all others. He has worked in various Michelin-star restaurants, trained and worked as a butler in London and led hospitality and service departments in a number of multinationals. Next to that he’s also fellow of the Guild of International Professional Toastmasters.